This has to be the most nimble buffalo we've ever seen. He manages to fend off lions and a crocodile until his friends in the Kruger come to rescue him.

There was an almighty rumble in the jungle on display for some gobsmacked tourists this week, as visitors to the Kruger National Park witnessed one of the most epic battles nature has to offer – a three-way scrap between a pride of lions, a buffalo, and a rather vicious crocodile.

Thuli Khumalo is the head of Atamela Tours and during one of his recent game drives, he was able to reach for his camera and capture the dramatic event. It begins when the lions have just finished chasing a pack of impalas. They then turn their attention to a solitary buffalo, who has been caught short and isolated from his friends.

Lions vs buffalo vs crocodile

The lions advance, but our brainy buffalo has a plan B: He jumps into the water to swim away from the predators. It looks like an ingenious plan, until the scales of a hungry crocodile pierce the waters.

The snappy customer takes a couple of bites out of the buffalo, but doesn’t do enough to take him down. The hapless mammal then decides to take his chances back on the land and makes one last bid for freedom.

After returning to the edge of the water, he manages to hold off the lions for a few minutes, but they’ve got their potential next meal surrounded. Just as all hope is lost, dozens of buffaloes come rampaging over the horizon. The lions – now outnumbered and outsized – back away from their prey, and shuffle away defeated.

Kruger National Park has a history for this…

The buffalo, incredibly, remains unharmed as the rest of the herd surround the popular drinking hole. The video ends with the astonished tour group wondering what exactly they had just witnessed. Although, according to the Latest Kruger Sightings YouTube channel, this isn’t the first battle of its kind to happen here:

“Over a decade ago, there was an epic battle between lions, buffaloes and a crocodile at a waterhole called Transport Dam. That video was aptly named Battle at Kruger. Ten years later, the next generations of lions faced their own failed hunt due to a huge herd of buffalo and crocodiles interfering!”

“If you spot lions hiding in the shade at a waterhole, it is often a good idea to stick around. Lions are opportunistic, so they will often try and hunt any animal that comes close enough. Luckily, for this buffalo, he called for help and prayers were answered!”

Not even The Lion King produced drama like this. We’re hoping that the buffalo remembers to bring a friend the next time he visits the dam and it’d probably be wise if he stayed in the shallow end for the foreseeable future.

Watch the lions, a crocodile and a buffalo battle it out at the Kruger: